1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to stringed musical instruments and in particular to an adjustable neck-body joint for a guitar-like instrument. In such instruments, the joint between the neck and the body of the instrument must be very firm since any movement along this joint can cause variations in both string height and string length. Unintended decreases in string height can cause spurious contact of the string with the frets and, thus, possible buzzing of the instrument. Small variations in string length can result in serious intonation problems with the instrument.
The neck-body joint also controls the angle or pitch of the neck, and thus the fingerboard, relative to the body of the instrument. If the plane of the fingerboard is virtually the same as that of the guitar top, then a relatively low bridge (i.e., just slightly greater than height than the height of the fingerboard) must be utilized. If the plane of the fingerboard is pitched at a greater angle to the body of the instrument, a higher bridge can be utilized.
It will be appreciated that the optimum pitch of the neck will vary according to the individual preference of the particular musician playing the instrument. Hence, it is desirable to provide a neck-body joint which is adjustable to accommodate these varying preferences. However, such an adjustable neck-body joint must still provide the above-mentioned firmness to permit the instrument to perform reliably.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
To achieve these ends, many adjustable neck-body joint constructions have been proposed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,257 to Bunker discloses a stringed instrument of the guitar type which provides for the making of adjustments in the spacing of the strings above the fingerboard. A metal bar is contained entirely within the length of the neck of the instrument. The inner end of the metal bar terminates just short of the square cut inner end surface of the wooden neck. The bar is pivotally mounted near its inner end on a cross-shaft which extends horizontally through the base end portion of the neck. At its inner end, the bar rests against an adjusting screw bolt which is threaded upwardly through a metal plate affixed to the body of the guitar. By rotation of this screw bolt, the inner end of the bar may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly, causing the outer end of the bar to move downwardly or upwardly, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,556 to Maccaferri discloses a neck junction for a stringed musical instrument. A saddle structure is provided which is integral with one end wall of the instrument body at the upper side thereof. The neck of the instrument is seated on the saddle structure, extending transversely thereacross and inwardly through the body to a location adjacent the end walls thereof opposite the saddle structure. An adjusting mechanism is operatively connected to the inner end of the neck for selectively applying forces thereto to deflect the neck and saddle structure as a unit, thereby angularly adjusting the neck relative to the top wall of the instrument body. Other stringed instrument constructions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,795,988 to Maccaferri, 3,911,778 to Martin, and 4,172,405 to Kaman, II.